HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College men's lacrosse team gave visiting No. 7 Dickinson (13-2, 6-1 CC) all the Red Devils could handle on Saturday afternoon, coming up just short in a Senior Day thriller on Swan Field, 12-11. Haverford nearly erased a 9-2 halftime deficit, outscoring the Red Devils 9-3 in the second half to push the visitors to the brink.
Prior to the start of the contest, Haverford honored its class of 2024: Ben Bronstein, Teddy Carlin, Danny Hoehler, Buddy Pelish, Samuel Millie, Andy Tieso, Simon Dickinson, Will Graves, and James Surgenor for their dedication and commitment to the program over the past four seasons.
Once action began on the turf, Matt Richards matched a career-best with a thrilling performance, adding seven goals and collecting six ground balls. Evan Wolpert also tallied a hat-trick and scooped two ground balls. Danny Hoehler was everywhere defensively with four caused turnovers and four ground balls, while Andy Tieso had an incredible turn in the cage, with a career-best 22 saves on his Senior Day, adding five ground balls. Reid Tietjen and Jonathan Moon each added two helpers in the contest.
Ethan Gess had four goals to pace Dickinson, while Owen Porter also added a hat-trick. John McKee was a standout at the face-off X, adding 20 wins and 13 total ground balls in the contest. Patrick Scarborough made 15 saves to pick up the win between the pipes.
Dickinson came out strong, shellshocking the Fords early with a 6-0 run that took a bit of the life out of the revved-up Senior Day crowd. Undaunted, the Fords were able to add an all-important goal before the end of the first period, with Moon finding Wolpert for a tally in the final minute of the frame. Dickinson continued to stay aggressive, adding goals from Colin Williams and Ethan Gess, wrapped around another tally from Wolpert. Mac Childs added an unassisted tally just moments before intermission with the Red Devils in full control, up 9-2 heading into the intermission.
The momentum shifted back to the Fords at the half, with Haverford going on a huge 5-1 run that featured goals from Tietjen and three goals from Richards. The junior tallied twice in the span of a minute in the fourth quarter, off feeds from Will Graves and Tyler Vendetti, as suddenly, Haverford was back within just three goals with 11 minutes and change to play.
Gess added a pair of key tallies to put the visitors back in a more comfortable spot up 12-7, but Richards and Wolpert scored in succession as the Fords were again back within three with six minutes remaining in regulation.
After a skirmish led to a pair of Dickinson players serving penalties, Moon found Richards for a momentous goal that electrified the Swan Field crowd in the final minutes of action. Back within two, a massive faceoff win with Richards scooping the loose ball set the stage for the Fords yet again.
Dickinson regained possession with 90 seconds left, and called for timeout with the shot clock dwindling. A shot clock violation out of the stoppage gave the ball back to the Fords, where Richards poured in his whopping seventh tally of the afternoon off a pass from Tietjen to put the Fords within just one with a chance to tie things with a successful offensive possession following the face-off.
Unfortunately for Haverford, Dickinson was able to win the restart. Simon Dickinson caused a turnover in the attacking third with just seconds left, but it was too late to get a shot off for Haverford.
Dickinson held a 54-46 edge in shots and controlled ground balls 51 to 35. Dickinson turned the ball over 20 times, to just 15 for the Fords.
Men's Lacrosse remains right in the thick of the Centennial Conference playoff hunt, currently in a three-way tie with Washington College and Ursinus for the fifth and final playoff spot. The Fords will look to take major strides towards solidifying a spot for the first time since the 2018 season with a win at No. 6 Swarthmore on Saturday, April 27 (3 p.m.) in the regular season finale.